Feud
by cherryblossom-vanilla
Summary: The feud between the Masen and Cullen households has become a symbol of their hate. Caught in the feud, Edward and Bella are working toward different causes. Edward wants to avenge his dead mother; while Bella plans to solve this crisis to become a 'real' police officer. Led by selfishness and pride, the two characters' lives are altered as love interferes with their plans. A/H.
1. Preface

To my sisters both—you know yourselves.

Here's the story you had awaited. I sincerely hope you like it.

* * *

Preface

We walked out into the night. The sky was a dark, dark blue, a shadewhich would be easily mistaken for black; and the stars were there—not many of them, but more than I had seen in a while—and they were shining like diamonds

Edward sat on the steps with a sigh. I regarded him, until he told me to come and sit by his side.

"What's wrong?" I asked, sitting down and stretching my legs out in front of me.

His eyes were closed, his back straight, his posture controlled, but when he spoke, he sounded as if he was about to break down. "I'm just tired," was all he said.

"Tired, of what?" I asked, though I had a million ideas about what he could be tired of.

"Of everything," came his response, "of my life, my family, myself, I'm tired of being Edward Masen."

"Change your last name back to Cullen, then," I joked, "then you won't be Edward Masen anymore, but Edward Cullen."

He let out a short laugh, "I'll still be the same person down at heart."

"You could change yourself," I told him.

"I wish it were that simple."

This was a part of Edward I had never seen before. A part which was human, very much so; a part which cared about something—other than himself, that is—a part which was not arrogant and self-loving; but rather desperate and in need.

"You don't need to make it any harder on yourself."

"I'm not doing anything; it can't get any harder than it already is," he shook his head.

"What exactly are you tired of?" I asked him.

"Everything, I'm so tired of everything." He ran a hand through his bronze hair, "I'm so tired of it all. Of needing everything I don't have—needing those few people I care about to love me too—just like I love them. And you know what the sickest part is?" he paused, "No of course you don't know. Well, it's that the one person who can give me everything I need isn't doing it. She's holding it away from me, just out of reach, but away all the same," He said. "I feel like if I reach far enough, I'll be abel to grab it all, to hold it. But of course, it isn't possible; she made sure of that."

"Who's she?" I inquired.

He looked at me, "You Bella; that person is you."

"Me?" I blanched, my mind spinning with the possibilities of what he was suggesting.

Our eyes met, and all I could see was the intense emerald green of his eyes. It was like the entire world had shifted focus, and nothing remained in the universe but those eyes, and the one person who owned them.

"Edward," I whispered, unsure of what to say.

He let out a defeated sigh, and leaned in. My eyes fluttered shut.

For a moment, our lips touched; and I lost myself in the feeling. My heart stopped; then started hammering painfully fast in my chest.

In that moment, I knew what it was that Edward wanted and needed; and I knew, also, that I needed and wanted the same things too.

When his arms locked around me, I felt a strange sense of safety and belonging. I had found the place where I belonged; and though it was not a world of my own, it was enough.

I knew then that I belonged with Edward; and that he belonged with me.

* * *

Author's note: Since I changed the summary, I figured I should change the preface and have something that actually connects. Something else which I would like to mention is that the preface is literally taken out from a later chapter in the story. Don't expect the first few chapters to be a lovey-dovey Edward and Bella type story, because they do fall in love later on.

Thanks for reading—and don't forget to leave a review/comment stating what you think. (Feel free to criticize and suggest areas for improvment.)


	2. Rivalry

Chapter 1

Rivalry

_Edward _

_Masen Mansion, Outskirts of Forks, Washington, USA _

_Fall _

I woke up to the sound of the burglar alarm blaring. Rolling out of bed, I grabbed my handgun and put on my converse which I had left out since last night. Once I had shoes on, I raced outside into the hallway; never mind the fact that I was still in my sleep-wear.

Outside, the halls were drenched in red as the alarm blasted and the lights blinked. The noise was a ruthless screech, and I could not help but think that I would lose my hearing thanks to it.

I slid down the staircase handle; then sprinted towards the West Wing drawing room, where I knew the window was left open since last night.

"Freeze!" I shouted, pointing my gun at the blond haired female in front of me.

Positioned right under the window, she was crouching and holding her head down in a manner that allowed her hair to flow over her face and mask her identity. The girl was dressed in a tight black suit that covered her whole body, neck to toes. Her feet were laced in steel-toed combat boots. She had a little pocket sewed to her left shoulder; in a place that would allow her to rip the pocket with her teeth if her hands were tied up. I would have thought she was an intruder; except for that pocket. That was our style.

"Now, now, Edward," The girl said, "put that gun away."

"Lauren," I sighed, recognizing the voice.

My cousin Lauren, who was also my best friend, stood up and walked over to the couch. She flung herself on the couch and sighed; taking out a new ID card. She slipped it across the table and I picked it up.

_"Cullen, Margot Ruth _

_Age: 37" _

"You killed her?" I asked, reading the name and age of the person who owned this card.

"Duh?" Lauren replied a touch rudely. "What, so you think I just left her to go tell the police?"

"Of course not," I said, turning around to leave now that it was evident no burglar was inside the house. Funny how no one else bothered check why the alarm was ringing.

"I'll give this to Mike, tell him to file it away; or whatever it is he does. Meanwhile I'll deal with this thing." I glared viciously at the alarm light, which was still flashing red.

Lauren laughed, "Sure thing, Edward. Oh, and by the way, nice pyjamas."

I flashed a sarcastic smile in her direction as I headed out the door.

* * *

_Forks High, Forks, Washington, USA _

I drove my silver Volvo into the school parking lot with ease. However, in the process, I almost killed a girl; who turned out to be the town sheriff's daughter.

"Watch it, kid," she said, clearly trying to sound angry and in charge.

"Sorry, didn't see you there," I replied foully, not bothering to keep my dislike towards her a secret.

"You clearly don't deserve a license," she muttered.

"Sorry?" I raised an eyebrow questioningly; though I had clearly heard her.

"Nothing," She rolled her eyes, "just watch the road, _please_. Or I'll have to tell my father."

"Oh," I gave a fake gasp, "You're the town sheriff's daughter, Isabella Swan right?"

With another roll of her eyes, the girl said "Yeah. Just call me Bella, though."

"Well, _Isa_bella; nice to meet you," I grinned upon seeing her frown.

"It's Bella." She corrected.

"Hmmm?" I asked, leaning against my open window.

She sighed and walked away, leaving me grinning victoriously.

Almost instantly, I shook it off, parked my car, then walked out and strolled into the school building; not bothering to wait for friends, or do the 'hi how was your summer' routine with people.

_Who cares, anyway?_ I reminded myself. _I don't need friends, they'll slow me down. _

Mike caught up to me just as I was about to head into the main building; he clapped me on the shoulder, taking me by surprise, and almost knocked me off my feet.

"Hey;" he greeted, "how was your morning?"

"Just great, especially since I woke up to the alarm," I replied, sarcastically.

"Ah, that was unfortunate, wasn't it?" Mike tried to hide his laugh, "turned out to be Lauren; huh?"

"Who else," I grumbled.

"Hey Mike!" one of our school's last year's volleyball players rushed over, greeting him. She was a short girl with dark brown hair and blue eyes; and a clear love for her own reflection.

"Hey," he replied slowly; evidently unsure of whom he was talking to.

The morning bell rang, and the girl hurried off with a quick "I'll see you later."

I had no idea why, but Mike, with all his geeky charms, was pretty popular among the girls' volleyball team. I always thought it was because he kept the score of their games.

"Hopefully not," Mike muttered; then on a more cheerful note he added, "I better get to class; don't want to be late on the first day of school, do I?"

"See you, then." I waved slightly and headed to my first period.

I walked into biology class to find Isabella Swan sitting there. I did not know what was wrong with today, but so far, it seemed cursed. Sighing, I took a random seat; only to find that I was sitting next to Alice Cullen. Another one of those people who I disliked—no surprises there, since I hated a great many people.

My first impulse was to switch my seat.

"Hello, Edward," She said, her eyes still down on her paper where she doodled.

"Hello, Alice;" I replied, my voice icy.

We didn't say anything else; I took out my ipod and blasted the volume, letting the noise of the students die away. When the teacher walked in; I put my music away and got ready for class. I did not want to cause trouble on my first day back. I would keep the troublemaking for later in the year.

The teacher took attendance then gave us a long and boring speech on his life. He stated his name, followed by too many facts which I wasn't interested in knowing. If I was slightly concerned about this teacher, I'd go look him up or something.

I stole a glance at Alice to see if she was listening. She had her head rested on her hand and was staring out into space; her eyes were looking approximately where the teacher was; but it was clear she wasn't seeing or hearing him.

Next, I glanced at Isabella, noticing how she was the only one listening, and chuckled to myself. The sheriff's daughter turned out to be a goody-two-shoe.

"Find something amusing, Mr…." the teacher trailed; but I knew he was looking at me.

"Masen, sir," I fed him my last name, proudly.

"Oh; yes… Mr. Masen." He muttered, "Find something amusing?"

"Oh, not at all sir," I said. "I apologize for my rude interruption." The man went back to his boring life story.

Someone poked me in back; I turned to see Lauren sitting behind me. She smiled slightly as she explained "Mr. Banner was talking about how his great-grandmother died."

"Mr. _Banner_?" I tried not to laugh.

"The stupid teacher;" She said with a roll of her eyes. "Of course, you wouldn't know, since you weren't listening."

"It isn't like you were listening either." I said and turned around quickly, earning a suspicious glance from Mr. Banner. I suddenly understood why he got pissed at me.

I grinned at him in response; he sighed and droned on. Students started taking their cell phones out, texting each other. Some put on their ipods and listened to music. Sometime later, someone started snoring. Soon after; someone asked what seemed like the stupidest yet the smartest question. "Can we do science now?"

Everyone laughed; and let's face it, I'd rather learn about animal cells having a nucleus than hear another one of Mr. Banner's stories.

Mr. Banner's face turned tomato red. Then he started yelling at the class, saying we were a bunch of spoiled, egotistical, and ungrateful children—while I spent the rest of the class rolling my eyes. I did not see the relation. Biology teachers should be happy when their students wish to learn, period. However, Mr. Banner did not go by that rule.

When the bell rang, signalling the end of the period, everyone rushed out and ran off. No one bothered waiting for Mr. Banner to dismiss us. Nor did anyone say goodbye after class.

Phys. Ed. happened to be my next period. Our teacher, Coach Clapp happened to be as likable as Mr. Banner—which wasn't very much at all. Coach Clapp clearly lacked the knowledge of how a physical education class is taught, for he spent the period lecturing the students, rather than leading an exercise.

Halfway through his lecture, most kids lost interest. They could not be blamed, and for once I found myself staring at the clock waiting for the lunch bell to go.

For the second time that day, at the end of the period, the students scurried away leaving the teacher dumbfounded and alone.

* * *

Renesmee Cullen shot me an angered expression as she walked away; hate radiating off her. She had slipped a piece of paper in front of me, which I was sure contained either a hate or a death note. Rolling my eyes at the girl, I opened the folded paper and read the contents.

_Watch your back, Masen. You never know when we'll strike._

_—Renesmee Cullen_

I rolled my eyes again—how predictable. I tossed the note aside to Mike, who happened to be sitting beside me, and got up.

Lunch was half way through at the moment, and the cafeteria was crowded with students. The chattering and yelling from different groups and tables filled the contained space, and made it a loud, noisy room. At the table where I had sat, were most of the Masens or friends of the Masen family. We had come to own—in practical terms—a certain table. The Cullens hogged a table at the other end of the cafeteria, the one furthest from ours. The rest of the student body sat wherever—but never at these two tables. They were, in a sense, by invitation and relation only.

I stalked over to the Cullen's table, where Renesmee was sitting laughing with some of her shallow, bimbo friends. They weren't Cullens to be exact—and had about as much knowledge in the family businesses as Mr. Banner had in the sciences—but Renesmee kept them around for fun.

"Oh, look who's here!" One of them giggled.

I rolled my eyes again, as another one of the girls started tidying her already neat hair.

"Renesmee," I started.

She looked at me like I was a freak off the circus, "What do you want?"

"Your heart, in the most literal terms," I replied.

One of the girls sitting at the table giggled in a manner which was supposed to be sexy but wasn't, "that's so romantic."

"You can have _my_ heart," another girl said, leaning forward and batting her eyelashes at me.

Renesmee shot her a deathly glare and turned back to me, "you can't have it."

"No? How interesting; seeing to how I already own it," reaching forward, I ran my fingers through and toyed with a lock of her hair.

It took her a full minute to control her feelings, and then she slapped my hand away. I grinned at her.

"No, you don't own it," she snapped.

"You keep telling yourself that, and you might start believing it," I smirked at her. "Well, it was nice talking to you, Renesmee. You have my number, don't you?"

She glared at me again.

"Call me whenever you're ready," I said, making sure to sound flirty, then turned around and slowly walked away.

"You wait a minute!" Renesmee's voice sounded from behind.

I turned around leisurely, "what is it? Miss me already?"

I was very much aware of the number of students watching us, as we stood in the middle of the cafeteria arguing.

"How dare you make fun of me like that?" She snarled.

"How dare I? Please, Cullen; gathering my courage to approach you is not something I must do," I scoffed.

"You're going to pay, you know? For everything; and especially for killing Margot," she hissed.

"Oh gee, now I'm worried; do you think I have enough money in the bank to cover the costs?" I asked sarcastically.

"You won't be paying with money; but with life." She reminded, "A life for a life, that's how it goes."

"What happens if another Cullen loses their life first? Does that still count?" I joked.

"You think this is funny?"

"I find it amusing, now that another one of you died."

"You're a bastard."

"Sorry, my parents happened to be legitimately married when I was born. It was _your_ mother who whored around and had you as a consequence." I retorted calmly.

"I hate you," she said, as if I didn't know that.

"You know I'm right," I replied.

"It doesn't matter; you're going to die soon."

"Please, even your best man lost his life; and it was me who took it," I waved her off.

"We got another."

"Who was it? Margot? Oops, sorry, but in case you forgot—she died this morning."

"No not her, she was unimportant, she was nobody."

"She was your mom," I replied, "except that she's dead now. Do you think she's missing you, while she's out there in hell?"

"My mother is in heaven, thanks very much."

"Please, she's done enough to get into hell," I told her.

"Like you're any better?" Renesmee snapped.

"I never said _I_ was going to heaven."

"But seeing how stupid you are, it will come with no surprise to know that you have mistaken Forks High for heaven."

"Good Lord! Anywhere located within a hundred kilometer radius of you is definitely not in heaven—even your friends know that," I replied.

"Listen, Masen," she started, "this whole rivalry is soon going to be over."

"Yes, after we kill every last one of you," I agreed.

With a roll of her eyes, Renesmee stated her opinion, "No. After we cut off the head of every Masen alive."

"And in the process you're going to accidentally cut off a dozen heads belonging to Cullens, seeing to how you do not know the difference between the two." I put in.

"Are you done with your lame and sarcastic remarks?"

"Are you done acting like a slut?"

She faltered, "I'm not a slut!"

"The day you magically become an innocent little girl, I will become a gentleman," I promised.

"Out of the two of us, you are the one who sleeps around."

"Goodness, have you forgotten that you've slept with almost every boy in this room." I added, "I say every, because some won't have you."

"Please, you slept with every willing girl here," Renesmee retorted, "then raped the unwilling ones."

I shrugged, "never had to rape a girl, considering how they are all willing."

She rolled her eyes.

From somewhere behind me, at the Masen table, someone called out, "hey Edward? Are you done flirting with Renesmee already?"

I turned around and smirked at the Masens. Then I turned back to Renesmee.

"Well?" She asked. "Are you done 'flirting' with me?"

"Do you _want_ me to flirt?" I asked.

"No, that's gross, especially coming from you," she retorted, but blushed anyway.

"Fine," I replied.

I tipped her head up, leaned down, and kissed her full on the lips. I really didn't know if the others saw her reaction, but she did kiss back.

A serious of 'oh's went up in the cafeteria; I pulled back and smirked at Renesmee.

"You kissed back."

"I did not!" Renesmee denied.

"Suit yourself. We both know you did it anyway," Running my thumb over her lip a last time, I said "so long, Renesmee."

I turned around and walked back to my table; where the Masens were sitting there, happily celebrating this small victory.

"Nice job," Mike told me as I took my seat once again.

I high-fived him, "can you expect anything less?"

"No," he laughed.

* * *

After school, I walked briskly to my car, glad the day's over. I was hoping my day would get better, despite the nasty feeling saying otherwise. When I got to my car, I took out my keys and was about to unlock the door when I heard someone scream.

I looked up on instinct; only to find that a few freshmen were playing. A guy was chasing after a girl, holding a stick in his hand. On the stick, I noticed, was a worm. I rolled my eyes at their idiocy.

Then, the unexpected hapened. From the corner of my eyes I saw a familiar car drive into the school parking lot. I knew the driver of this car too well; more than I ever wanted to. It couldn't have been anyone but _him_; I was sure the driver was that same man because I had his license plate memorized. Not to mention it was the same one.

I saw Alice Cullen run towards the car as the driver, a man in his forties with blonde hair, hazel eyes and pale skin, got out of the driver's seat. The man embraced Alice for a moment, and then held her at an arm's length to look at her.

I was filled with anger and jealousy. Here was Carlisle Cullen, my _father_,hugging his step-child, and not paying any attention to his biological one. Then, immediately, I disregarded the thought.

_No, he's not my father. _I thought bitterly, reminding myself, _he's my enemy. _


	3. Enemy

Author's Note: Here's chapter two for those of you who have been waiting. Thanks to Dewdrop Raine for reviewing my story, and I hope you'll like this chapter.

Please leave a comment telling me what you think.

* * *

Chapter 2

Enemy

Edward

_Forks High School, Forks, Washington, USA_

_Fall_

_No, he's not my father. _I thought bitterly_, he's my enemy. _

I stared at Carlisle; who had just gotten into his car. _He killed them, he's the reason you're like this_, a voice said in my head.

I gritted my teeth. My hand moved to my bag, where I kept a handgun at all times. He was within a shooting distance. It would take one shot; one bullet, and he'd die. Then it would all be over; that whole rivalry, the whole problem would be solved. And though he was driving away, I knew I could still take him down. I could shoot at moving targets; I could hit moving targets many feet away.

"Edward!" someone shouted across the parking lot; I looked behind me at Isabella, who was racing my way, and lost sight of Carlisle Cullen in the process. All thoughts of murdering my father disappeared from my brain. I lost the anger that filled me. I felt normal again, like I hadn't been thinking of killing a man merely moments ago.

"You left this in English class," Isabella said, handing me my phone.

"Oh," I was taken aback by my own stupidity, "Thank you."

"Don't worry about it." She smiled; then stepped back, "enjoy your night."

"I'll try," I muttered to myself. "You too," I looked up at her and flashed a smile which was known to melt hearts.

She nodded then walked away, towards her own vehicle—truck mind you—which she'd parked at the other end of the lot.

I got into my car; eager to leave the school. I had to talk to someone about Cullen showing up here. That wasn't a good sign; it never was. He was out of his territory.

Cullens and Masens who did not attend Forks High were not allowed anywhere on the school grounds. It was a way of protecting the high school's student body, by ensuring no fighting between the two families would take place.

Carlisle had just broken the rule—maybe it was his way of getting back at us for killing his relative and maybe not. But what seemed like the more obvious answer was the fact that he was declaring war on us.

* * *

_Masen Mansion, Outskirts of Forks, Washington, USA_

The Masen Mansion was what seemed like a huge, modern castle. It was set on the outskirts of Forks, on a piece of land the Masens bought a while ago. The Mansion in Forks was the most modern housing the Masens owned. We owned more houses, all over the continent really. No to mention the Masens happened to own a few isles over in Canada, many acres of land, and enough houses to shelter all of Forks' population in Mexico.

Where we lived, currently, was a seven story house, divided into an East and West Wing. It had around a hundred bedrooms, three kitchens, two drawing rooms, three dining areas, many balconies and possibly fifty bathrooms. Though I lived here most of my life, there were still parts of the mansion I've never seen yet.

The building itself was set in the centre of the land; at the front were the gardens, split in the middle by a path that led from the gates to the main entrance of the house. The right side of the garden had a covered sitting area which we barely used. There was a fountain there too.

The Mansion was surrounded by a twelve foot wall, meant to keep intruders out. The front gate, which was tall and wide made out of heavy iron, was always monitored—by both cameras and security guards. From the main entrance, one couldn't access the parking lots, which were located bellow the building. The entrance to the garage was from the side gate.

After parking my car, and heading inside, I noticed Jasper sitting in the East Wing drawing room of the Mansion. Although he attended a university in Seattle, Jasper never showed up to his lectures. According to him, there was no point in doing so. That was why he would drive to Seattle once at the end of the term in order to write his exam, and would write his assignments and send them by email rather than attend the class.

Jasper's feet were propped up on the table in front of him and his laptop was positioned on his lap. He was typing away on his computer; his eyebrows furrowed as he concentrated on whatever it was he was doing. I had a feeling it wasn't an essay for his university professor.

"Hey Jasper, what are you doing?" I greeted him, hovering over his laptop screen to see what he was up to.

"Edward!" Jasper jumped up almost knocking his head against mine.

I had to lean back to avoid getting hit by my brother flying off the couch. I laughed; picking up his laptop which had fallen to the floor. "Relax, Jasper. One would think I just caught you doing something you weren't supposed to be doing." I said, "You look guilty enough."

"I hate it when you sneak up on me like that," Jasper mumbled as I grinned foolishly at him.

He had his reasons for hating being snuck up on. And he had had his share of surprises; if there was one person who was used to being taken by surprise, it was Jasper. Whether by me or one of the Cullens, Jasper had been crept up on more times that he liked.

"So, what was it you were doing?" I asked again, setting the laptop down on the table.

Jasper sighed, "looking up stuff," he replied.

"Hmm," I mused, "Didn't look like they were university-related topics."

"No, they weren't." He looked away.

"You look _really_ guilty," I grinned again; giving him the implication I knew what he was doing, when in fact, I was clueless.

"Aw, layoff my back;" Jasper whined, though his voice was that of mockery, "I was looking more into those Cullens."

"Oh, of course," I joked, "Because you've nothing better to do."

"I found quite a bit of useful information," Jasper grinned at me.

"Why go through all the trouble when you can just ask Mike?" I asked.

Mike was an expert at almost everything. Everything, that is, except handling a weapon. The last time he held a knife… well, it didn't end too nicely. Just a dozen or so injuries and a few people hospitalized for a week.

"I did ask him. He didn't have any new info. Except that we killed Margot Ruth this morning." Jasper rolled his eyes, "Yes, very helpful."

"Renesmee Cullen is in full 'revenge' mode, she'd like to personally rip my throat out." I put in, "she thinks I'm the one who killed her mom."

"Well, that's interesting;" I had a feeling Jasper was leaving something out.

"Why were you looking up the Cullens?" I asked.

"We're planning an attack." Jasper answered, looking out of the window and into the open forests outside.

"We just attacked _this_ morning." I said, dumbly.

"No, we attacked _last night_; Lauren came back this morning. At around five, mind you." Jasper snapped.

I couldn't come up with anything intelligent to say, therefore I said nothing.

"So, Edward; what are you doing here?" Jasper asked, plopping down on the couch; and changing the subject.

"What am I doing here?" I repeated a touch violently, and feeling very offended.

"You got anything important to tell me?" He stared at me while I racked my brain trying to remember.

Then I remembered what I came here for. "Well, I saw Carlisle drive into the school parking…" I trailed, understanding why the attack was taking place.

"We're going to get them back." I said.

"Yes," Jasper replied. "Weren't you the one who was so keen on punishments?"

I looked at Jasper, "What're we doing exactly?"

"Just destroying as many things of theirs as possible," Jasper replied.

"Who's leading?"

"Well, _me_ of course," he gave me a look that said I was being stupid, "how else would I know all this information?"

"Who's going?" I asked Jasper, hoping he would let me join.

"Oh, I don't know." He rolled his eyes. "I just hope Mike stays out of it. Do you want to come?"

"Sure I'll come; but that doesn't mean I approve of this." I replied. "

"What do you mean?"

"Don't be stupid, Jazz. If Carlisle showed up at school, he's going to expect us to attack his family tonight as a form of punishment. The Cullens are clearly prepared, and are expecting us to show up at their estate tonight to attack them."

Jasper Shrugged, "we're still going. Anyway, tell Lauren to come as well, I'm sure she won't mind." Jasper mused, "and I'll ask Grandpa about the rest."

I nodded and waited for Jasper to give his next command.

"Go get dressed;" Jasper stood up, "You can't fight in those jeans."

I nodded again, "anything else?"

"Bring your gun; and a blade, just in case you need it," He commanded. "We leave at sunset."

"Got it," I saluted Jasper then headed out.

I left the drawing room and raced upstairs; feeling worse about my day and this turn of events.

* * *

_Cullen Estate, Near Forks, Washington, USA_

The Cullens owned a big piece of land which they've built when they first moved to Forks. This made their estate look more old-fashioned than modern, and made it a huge house; never mind the fact only a few people live there.

The outside of their estate was fenced with what appeared to be only a hedge on the outside; but was backed up with a seven foot high wall. That wall was difficult to climb; but I knew a few who've done it.

Jasper, Mike—who was told to come our grandfather, the head of the family—and I broke through the back gate. I didn't hesitate to shoot the security guard standing outside. Stealing the lock from the guard, Jasper unlocked the door to let us in. We ran through the back gardens as fast as possible. Mike got to work on the security pad, positioned near the back door, on the estate's outer walls.

The other group had already left and got in through the front entrance of the building. They were now causing a distraction at the front of the Cullen's Estate, so that Mike, Jasper and I could slip through the back and surprise the Cullens.

As Mike worked on deactivating the alarm, he started talking about Isabella.

"So…" he started, breaking the stealthy silence, "You and Bella, huh?"

"You mean, Isabella Swan?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, the town sheriff's daughter; I saw her talking to you after school. You two looked real friendly."

"Lay off my back; Mike. I know you're crushing on her, but please. Not everyone is as stupid as…" Jasper shot me a silencing look that shut me up.

"As stupid as?" Mike asked.

"Nothing, never mind," I muttered, "just get this fucking thing done."

Another silence hung around us for a couple of moments, only to be broken by Mike—surprise, surprise. "So… do you like, _like _Bella?"

I wanted to tell him to stop kidding, almost said 'what, ew! Mike!' then stopped myself; instead I told him in an icy voice, "no. I don't like her."

I hoped he'd leave it at that; but of course, Mike being Mike, he had to pressure me.

"Oh… because I thought, you know. You were interested in her. And I thought, maybe…" He got up to face me, "I thought you'd replace, you know… _her _with Bella."

I couldn't comprehend what happened next. I saw Mike's back come in contact with the wall behind him. My fists were clenched, slightly extended, as if I had just punched someone.

To my horror, Mike slammed where the alarm must have been; because after a second of silence, the security alarm went off.

Jasper hissed angrily, "Look what you've done, you fucking idiot!"

I didn't argue, I knew perfectly well it was my fault the alarm went off. But I couldn't be blamed—that I knew too. Mike had spoken of a forbidden topic; every Masen, Cullen, and any other person who knew of that incident knew they aren't allowed to mention it. To speak of that incident…it was like saying 'Voldemort' in the Harry Potter world.

"What do we do now?" Mike croaked.

For a split second, Jasper and I stared at each other; then together we said, "Run."

Clearly we had very different ideas about where to run to. I took off inside the estate, going in deeper with every step. Then I noticed that Mike's heavy steps—which I would be able to hear even if he was a mile away—were becoming harder to hear. It was also weird how Jasper, one of the fastest runners I've seen, hadn't caught up with me yet.

I looked behind me to see no one; I was alone in the corridor. "Those cowards," I grumbled and ran back towards the exit. Pushing open the door, I caught Mike and Jasper as they ran towards the back gate; they were about to leave the estate ground.

"You bastards, where do you think you're going?" I demanded; loudly enough for them to hear.

"I said we run," Jasper hollered back, above the noise of the alarm, "I meant run for our lives."

"Stop being a chicken. We didn't come all the way here to leave without our revenge," I growled back. "Get your asses here, and let's go help the others."

Jasper and Mike exchanged glances; then Jasper made a decision. "Fine, go to the front of the estate, the main entrance. Keep the door behind you and the stairs in front. If they're coming down, they're going to use the main stairs." Jasper ordered.

"Shouldn't we be running away?" Mike asked, half breathless already.

"Scared, Mike?" I challenged.

They were now running towards me and the estate.

Jasper told Mike, "No, we're going to fight them. That's what we came here for."

Sprinting through the halls, I hoped the Cullens were dimwitted enough to not realize where we were; also prayed to God Mike's elephant-like steps don't attract too much attention.

We burst into the Estate's ballroom, ran through, and came out of the other doors which led directly to the main entrance.

The main entrance of the estate was a big empty space, with tall windows, stretching from floor to ceiling. On one side, were the huge Estate's oak doors; on the other side was the entrance to the ballroom. Above the ballroom were the main stairs.

The main stairs consisted of two staircases curving on either side and framing the ballroom door. The staircases met on the second floor, opening on one of the halls into a gallery.

Jasper was right; the Cullens were running down the main stairs; some were already downstairs opening fire. I saw Lauren dodge behind a column in order to save her life.

Bullets flew all over the room; finding their homes in windows, walls, and vases which contained bouquets of flowers. It sounded like something coming straight out of a sci-fi or action movie, expect this was the reality I lived in.

"Edward, watch your back," Jasper called out.

I spun around to see Alice Cullen run down the upstairs hall. She stopped near the lookout gallery. Placing one foot on the short fence guarding the gallery, she hoisted herself up using her arms for support, and swung her body over. I watched her drop to the floor, mouth hanging half open; as realization hit me.

I admit I prayed she'd fall and break her neck, but God was gracious and let her live. Alice landed perfectly, except for the fact that in less than a minute since her landing, I fired at her.

She dodged, somehow; then returned fire. Her bullet grazed my arm; leaving my skin burning and my jacket sleeve torn.

Somewhere behind me, a window exploded, showering the room and everyone with shards of broken glass.

The fight went on for a while. I had no idea how many people were killed, how many were injured; but I knew I was okay, and to me, nothing mattered more. I never knew of our losses until the fights were over.

"Lay back," Jasper ordered, "there is too many of them."

"Dammit!" I cursed, "I told you they knew. They fucking knew we were coming."

I fired one more time; noticed how the windows were all shattered, and much of the Cullen's great estate was destroyed; and felt better immediately.

I turned to leave with the rest of my family, and stopped immediately. I was not done here; I hadn't had my moment of triumph yet.

I spun around, whipped a blade out of my jacket's inside pocket and threw it. It caught Tanya Cullen—who was technically my step-mother—in the shoulder. She let out a cry of pain.

I grinned at the unnamed Cullen who attacked, fired a bullet and watched it sink into his chest; and as his lifeless body dropped to the floor, I spun around once more and ran.

The Cullens were in too much shock to realize we had just escaped.


	4. Biology Lab

Author's Note: This chapter isn't written to be realistic or anything like that; in all honesty the purpose of it is to link a couple of future events in the story, provide an outlook on how Bella and Edward's relation, and to provide some humor. The Bio lab is in no way realistic-at least not by Canadian standard-because in high schools-last I checked-frogs are deoxygenated (or dead) but in this chapter, the frog has been put to asleep using anaesthetic. This leads to a lot of trouble for some characters!

Enjoy this chapter-and hopefully, you'll laugh a great deal!

* * *

Chapter 3

Biology Lab

_Bella_

_Forks High School, Forks, Washington, USA_

_Fall_

Quite a number of students did not attend school the next day. I couldn't help but notice that a certain 'someone' was missing; and that wasn't because I was looking for him, or noticing him—no it was not like that. It was only because I made it to the school doors safely; with no danger of crazy drivers.

The school halls seemed strangely empty. Most of those 'popular' kids were not there. It was suspicious how most absent students were either related to the Masens or the Cullens.

However, Alice Cullen was there in school—which was strange; since most of her relatives were not there.

After class, as I was heading to my locker to grab my lunch and drop off my books; I walked headfirst into someone. Stumbling back, I fell and dropped my stuff.

"Ow!" I exclaimed.

"Oh, I am so sorry!" A girl voice replied.

I looked up to see Alice Cullen wearing a rather worried expression. "You okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, thanks for asking," I replied; then reach to pick up my books.

She helped me gather my things, which were sprawled all over the hallway. As she handed me my biology textbook and binder, I asked her "you're Alice Cullen, right?"

Grinning, she replied, "yes. You're Bella Swan?"

"That's me," I said, standing up.

"We're in the same biology class," Alice said, and I got the feeling she did that to continue the conversation.

"I know," I answered, then realized it might have sounded a little rude. "Hey, want to sit with me for lunch? My friends are away, and I noticed how your group is missing too." I added, trying to be nice.

At this, Alice's face brightened up. She accepted happily; "Sure!"

"Mind if I go to my locker first? I need to get my lunch." I asked her, "You can come with me if you want."

"Okay. I'll need to get my lunch too. I think our lockers are down the same hallway, so it shouldn't be a problem." She told me as we walked towards our lockers.

We grabbed our food and headed to the cafeteria. Lunch passed strangely quickly; and the two of us had to go separate ways because we had different classes. I asked Alice if she'd like to join me for lunch tomorrow again, and she said she'd do it.

So I officially made a new friend.

* * *

About a week later, in biology class, we had a lab in which we were dissecting frogs. I was stuck with Edward as my partner, which I wasn't too happy about.

The rest of the girls in my class were shooting me hateful looks for being his partner. Everyone wanted to be Edward's biology partner, not only because he was naturally smart, but because he was handsome and gorgeous. With bronze hair and hypnotizing green eyes, he was the most wanted boy in all of Forks.

Not that I wanted him as well—no I didn't date or anything like that. But still, I couldn't help noticing his breathtaking beauty and inhuman perfection. The guy was, in every way, a Roman god brought to life.

However, all the perfection aside, Edward was not a good bio partner, per say. During the lab, he hogged all the equipment, and wouldn't let me do anything. Every time I reached for something, he'd quickly snatch it away and use it; then shoot me a dirty look. The only thing he allowed me to do was write down the observation; but that was boring, since he fed me every word of what to write.

At last, I snapped.

"Listen, Edward. I get that you want our lab to turn out right; and that you're very proud of yourself for having the highest mark in biology. But that doesn't mean you should do everything and make me record things I don't even understand." I told him, truthfully. "We're lab partners, meaning we have to actually _share_ the work."

He gave me a look, "You don't know what we're supposed to do. I can't let you work for safety reasons."

"I will know what is expected of us to do when I get to do it." I snapped. "And what do you mean safety reasons? _You're_ the one who's holding the knife wrong! That'll hurt the frog."

"The frog is as good as dead."

"But it isn't." I retorted.

"Well, it can't feel at the moment, anyway." Edward pointed out.

"That doesn't mean you should hurt it."

"Why are you so worried about it?" Edward asked in disbelieve, "it is a freaking _frog_!"

I crossed my arms in front of my chest, "I liked class better without you."

"That is beyond the point," Edward rolled his eyes, he set the knife down then reached across the lab table and plucked the pencil out of my hand. "Not to mention very immature."

"Hey!" I protested.

"You don't want to record." It wasn't a question, but a statement, "that's why _I'm _doing it."

I watched him write something down on the page; as I thought of a good way to get him back.

I got my chance when he dropped the pencil and reached for the knife. Grabbing the knife quickly, I held it away from him, over my head; "Ha ha!"

Edward shot me one of those looks that said 'you are in trouble'.

"Give it back." He ordered.

"No," I said shortly.

"Give it back," he repeated.

"Nope," I made sure to pop the letter 'P' for emphasise.

"Give it back," throw clenched teeth, he stated, earning a toothy grin from me.

"I might, if you're nice," I replied.

Sighing, Edward muttered something under his breath. He flexed his shoulders; relaxed them, clenched his fists. Then, as if he was trying to pull himself together, he forced the words out. He looked like he was being tortured when he said, "would you _please _give it back?"

For a moment, I pretended to think; and then, I held it out. As Edward reached for the knife, a second time; I pulled it back, "Or maybe not."

"You're being childish. Just give me the damned knife so we can finish this stupid lab."

"_I'm_ being childish! You're the one who won't let me do anything! Mr. High-and-mighty," I practically yelled.

I couldn't care less that half of the class was staring. I wanted to participate in this lab; else Mr. Banner was going to grade me with an F. No way in hell was I going to get an F on my lab.

Edward and I fought for so long, the other students decided to go back to their work. We were still arguing as others started to clean up.

Somehow, a stupid argument over who can do the work, turned into an immature name calling business. "You're egotistical, proud, boastful, conceited, annoying…"

Edward cut me off, "And you are stupid and shallow…" I cut him off, just as he'd done.

"I wasn't finished."

Very rudely, he said "Yeah? Well neither was I. And by the way; you sound like you swallowed a dictionary. Are you sure it isn't a crime against the dictionary? It might have gotten hurt."

My blood boiled.

Sometime during our argument, the anaesthetic or whatever it was Mr. Banner had used to knock the frog out cold—I really didn't know—wore off. The frog, now awake, started jumping around.

I screamed in terror, jumping back; and then yelled at Edward, "You didn't pin the freaking thing down!"

"I did!" Edward screamed back.

"Well, the frog is hopping around with its insides freaking showing!" Like the coward I never wanted to be, I ran towards the door, as far away from the frog as possible.

Other kids dropped their things and ran around screaming, dropping pencils, dissection knives, books and papers. Eric Yorkie slipped over pens as he ran away from the hopping frog; landing headfirst on the floor.

"It's on top of him!" Jessica Stanley shrieked; making other kids scream in horror.

We were all huddled in the corner, holding on to each other, and trying to hide from the frog. Lauren Masen was the only one who didn't freak out; she continued reading her book at her desk.

Mr. Banner finally left his magazine and helped Edward chase after the frog. He didn't even notice the fact that I was huddled in the corner, behind the other students and screaming at the top of my lungs.

Finally, Edward caught the frog, and then threw him in a jar, which Mr. Banner screwed on tightly.

"It's going to die in there," someone said.

"Who cares, as long as it doesn't jump at us," someone else replied.

Students now moved towards the center of the classroom, picking their things. I walked over to my desk, planning on gathering my stuff and bolting out of the door.

No such luck.

Mr. Banner made me and Edward stay after class and clean up the mess that the frog made. Then he graded me an F while Edward got a A-minus.

"An A-minus?" I asked. "That is _un_fair!"

"Edward did all the work, Ms. Swan. Not to mention he caught the frog and cleaned up. The only reason I took marks off was for the fiasco that your frog caused." Mr. Banner replied rudely. "You on the other hand, Ms. Swan, did nothing. You cowered in the corner when the frog leaped away, barely helped with the clean up; and not to mention that the whole problem was _your fault_."

Before I had a chance to say anything back; Mr. Banner kicked us both out.

On the way to our next class, Edward muttered loud enough for me to hear, "you're a coward too."

_Breath in… breath out… in… out…_

I tried to concentrate on my breathing, and not the fact that my blood was boiling with rage. Who was he to call me a coward? Did he know who I was? Didn't he know that the town's sheriff is my father and I usually help the police in capturing criminals?

_Calm down Bella_, part of me sang.

_No,_ the devil in me, eager to set the record straight, argued. _Who is he to treat you like that? Sure, he's rich, wears designers, and drives a pretty car; but that doesn't give him the right to mess with your biology mark and call you names. _

What I did next might have meant I'm an undisciplined person; but I did it anyway.

I slapped him.

* * *

For the rest of the week, Edward ignored me. Which, I have to admit, stung a little.

Although Mr. Banner made a seating plan which placed me and Edward on the same table, everyday in Biology, he'd move his chair as far away from mine as possible; until he wasn't sitting at the desk anymore. I learned to ignore him right back; and gave myself a lecture during my own leisure time about how I am _not _supposed to be upset.

Nothing seemed to be helping my case; I started obsessing over why I was being ignored. Okay, I knew I slapped him, which was really rude, but then he'd called me some bad names. He earned his slap—really.

What annoyed me most was how I cared—and felt hurt—about being ignored. Normally, I wouldn't care; _that_ I knew. But now that _Edward _was the one ignoring me; I didn't know how I was supposed to handle it.

Which brought up the point, did I have feelings for him?

Sure, he was good looking, rich, smart, sophisticated, and wanted by every girl in the school; but he also happened to be very rude, with a nasty temper, a sense of self-importance and an ego as big as his mansion.

All things in consideration, I wasn't supposed to fall for him. Especially because I don't date… and neither does he.

I was driving myself insane.

When Alice asked me if I wanted to come over during the weekend; it was all I could do to agree. I had finally gotten a chance to do something which did not involve Edward; thus, I wouldn't think about him.

"Sure, I'll come." I told Alice, after she asked.

She clapped her hands excitedly, jumped up and down. "My parents and siblings want to meet you. My mom is driving me insane, 'ask Bella to come over, Alice.'" Alice mimicked, "and of course, you're my closest friend, so I had to invite you!"

I smiled, "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

Alice grinned, "How about Saturday at ten? Then you can stay as long as—" she interrupted herself. "Oh! I got a better idea, how about a sleepover?"

"Sounds great," I agreed, then made a mental note to tell my dad I was going to sleep over at Alice's.

"You should come at around six in the afternoon then," Alice concluded.

"Okay," I said, "As long as it won't bother anybody."

"Bother anybody? Why would it bother anybody?" Alice blinked, but she shook it off after a few seconds, "Don't worry. My sister Rosalie will be so glad! Oh, but I should tell you, she'll probably start curling your hair and trying make up styles on you."

I laughed, "I'm not scared of makeup, Alice. I don't wear it because I'm too lazy to stand around and fix my eye-shadow. Not because I'm scared."

Speaking of being scared and creepy events; from the corner of my eyes I saw Edward—who was sitting at the next table with his cousins—smile mischievously in my direction.

* * *

Author's Note: Hope you liked this chapter! Please leave a review to tell me what you think. And, thanks for all of my lovely reviewers-again, you all know yoursleves. You guys are awesome.

And to those of you who are wondering, the summary is taken out of the story, it basically reflects what Edward wants out of his life; other than killing his father, that is.


	5. Weapon

Chapter 4

Weapon

_Edward _

_Masen Mansion, Outskirts of Forks, Washington, USA _

_Fall _

Slamming his hand down on the table, Jacob demanded, "We _have_ to send someone over to the Cullen's house. How do we know they won't hurt her?"

"We don't," Lauren snorted. "But there isn't anything we can do about it, either."

"I say we leave it alone," Jasper yawned, looking up from his book.

"I agree with Jasper. Why the hell should we risk the _sheriff's_ daughter seeing us breaking into the Cullen's estate? Considering her reputation," Mike stated, "She helped the police a couple of times with local crimes."

"_Local_ being the productive word here," Jacob put in.

I folded my arms behind me and rested my head against them; kicking off the ground so that my chair was balanced on its rear legs. Tuning out the conversation, and closing my eyes; I reached into my memory and brought back the day of the biology dissection lab, when Isabella Swan had slapped me across the face.

I remembered her shocked expression after she'd slapped me. Remembered the red mark I saw when I gazed into the change room mirror during my next period. I also remembered how she had turned on her heel and stormed away, pretending she did not regret slapping me.

I knew she regretted slapping me; I had made sure she suffered consequences—though they were not severe. A part of me still questioned how I had managed to not kill her.

Isabella Swan happened to be the very first girl to hit me because of a reason beyond family and crimes. She had been the first girl to argue with me, to get mad at me, and the first girl to _not_ find herself wildly attracted to me. As well as the first girl who hadn't practically drooled every time I walked into the room.

And to make the list of records Isabella had broken longer; she was the first girl I found myself interested in; that is, the first one who caught my attention since the accident.

A part of me had to admire her for it.

I laughed quietly to myself, which happened to be the inappropriate reaction related to what was being said by fellow family members, "_Edward_?"

I heard my grandfather's sharp tone well before I saw the anger in his eyes. I set my chair down properly, and looked over at my brother for help. His expression was enough to inform me that I wouldn't be getting any.

"I am incredibly sorry for disturbing. Please, don't let me bother you," I ushered for the group gathered around the table to continue.

We were sitting around our rather large dinning table, discussing the matter which my cousin Jacob had brought to notice. Jacob—like me—had heard of the fact that Isabella was going over to the Cullen's house—as it turns out their fathers were good friends and so Jacob had known Isabella for quite a while. Jacob—unlike me—felt that 'Isabella going to the Cullen's house is very dangerous and that we should do something about it'. It seemed, so far, that everyone else disagreed with what Jacob had to say.

Jacob was my rather detested cousin; and when I say detested, I mean hated by me. His mother was a Masen, which was his relation to us. His dad was an Aboriginal from La Push, and belonged to the Black clan. However, much to my dismay, Billy Black decided to 'join' the Masen family's business. That, of course, meant he resided with us. But it also meant that I had to put up with an annoying cousin called Jacob Black.

I hated Jacob mainly for reminding me of things I did _not_ want to remember. Calling me Cullen, Teddy—my inauspicious nickname, to which I am yet to find a reason for its applicability—or Eddie whenever he was sure I could not plant a bullet in his head; reminding me of my parenthood, and mentioning how 'everyone still suffers my mother's death' to name a few. He also made a point in reminding me I haven't been the same since that incident on numerous occasions.

"Edward," My grandfather said again, bringing me back to the present and out of my thoughts, "Were you not too busy entertaining yourself, you might have noticed how we were waiting for your _input and opinion _related to the matter at hand."

I waved my hand, pretending I had not been insulted, "What am I to say? I agree with almost everyone here; that we should not risk being caught by Isabella Swan."

"But—" Jacob started, however, I cut in.

"Yet, I seem to—rather unfortunately—understand Jacob's point of view. The Cullens are very dangerous people, not to mention manipulative. They must see the value of making the sheriff's daughter their ally," I went on.

"What are you suggesting?" Jasper leaned in slightly, his arms resting on the table.

From where he sat directly across from me, I could see the curiosity reflected in his eyes. I leaned across the table so that I could gaze directly into them, "I am suggesting that they would want to befriend Isabella in hope that Isabella would let their crimes slip."

Jasper's eyes widened and I smirked, straightening up. "We cannot, of course, let that happen. As I understand it, Jacob here is already a good friend of Isabella. This can work out in our favour, as we can get her to be on our side."

"So she'll let _our_ faults go by," Lauren put in, nodding in agreement.

"You're suggesting we stop her from becoming friends with the Cullens?" Jacob raised an eyebrow.

"Of course not," I looked at him, "if we _stop _her from picking her own friends she will dislike us. We won't stop her from becoming Alice Cullen's friend; however, we will allow her to see who the Cullens truly are."

"And in turn she will see us for who we are," my 'uncle' James stated bitterly.

"Oh no, she doesn't need to view us as criminals. We can manipulate her into seeing what we want her to see," I said.

"I thought it was the Cullens who were manipulative, not us." Victoria, James's girlfriend, commented in her nasal voice.

I smirked, "that happens to be the point." Everyone's eyes were on me now, as I waved my hand dismissively, stating the obvious. I continued, speaking the rest in riddles.

"Everyone seems to forget that we _do _have manipulative minds on our side. It is our 'forgotten' weapon. The Cullens may be devils, but Masens aren't pure angels either, more like fallen angels, let's say. So… what happens when you've got children who are half devil and half angel?"

I eyed the rest of the Masens gathered around the room. No one could come up with a response, of course, and it didn't matter; I did not want an answer for I was about to provide one.

"Oh," Lauren had realized what I meant; she looked up at me, wide eyed.

"What happens is that you get a new breed, someone who stands directly on the—no scratch that, you get someone who _is _the line. And that; that new breed is our weapon."

"What are you on about?" Jasper whispered.

"I'm saying, brother, that _you and I_ are that weapon." I cocked my head to the side, "Half Cullen and half Masen… makes us part devil and part angel."

The silence that followed was of deliberate shock.

* * *

_Cullen Estate grounds, Near Forks, Washington, USA _

"Get a move on, would you?" I snapped at Jacob, knowing he was falling behind without having to look back.

Jacob grumbled as we continued down the narrow, dark path. I really wasn't listening to what he was saying, and neither did I want to. A part of me knew he was muttering words which no respectable gentleman would have uttered, under his breath.

"Down," I ordered and immediately dropped into a crouch along with Jacob.

Peeking through the bushes, I pointed at a window and spoke in a whisper, "See that?"

Beside me, Jacob nodded. "That is the window to Alice's room. The girls are most definitely going to be hanging out there, at least for a good part of the night. Since we're spying, we're going to need to get to that window. Since it is on the third floor; we're going to have to sit on the roof and look downward."

"There's a flat section of the roof right on top of the window. We can use that." Jacob put in.

We were outside Forks, in the forests that surrounded the town. In front of us, just out of our reach, was the Cullen estate, its structure standing tall above us as we crouched in the shadows. The plan was to organize our break in—which was happening on Saturday—tonight. The rest of the week would be spent planning other courses of action and backup.

The family had finally decided that we should listen to Jacob and do something about Isabella going to the Cullen's. We weren't going to do much; just spy on the girls and make sure nothing fishy was going on. Then, we would use what information we could gather to make a good decision on how to approach Isabella. My grandfather had decided that we should get Isabella on our side, make friends with her. Somehow—though I understood how I seemed to be supporting that before—I started to doubt the effectiveness of this plan. A goody-two-shoes like her would report anyone who was criminal; friends or not. Unless, of course, we dispose of her before she spoke. But that did not seem like the best course of action to follow.

It was decided that Jacob and I would go. Jacob because he was the one who came up with the idea, and was the person who fully supported this…mission. I was to go because I was the only other person who was okay with this advance. Also, as I loved to put it, because "Jacob needed a sensible partner who will ensure he came home safely."

"Perfect. At zero hour, Mike will have the security systems deactivated. We're leaving our car out in the woods, exactly where we left it today; and hiking up here."

"Dude, this isn't a World War battlefield, no need for 'zero hour' shit," Jacob snorted.

"Good to know you've been paying attention in history class," I rolled my eyes.

Jacob gave me a long look which only made me roll my eyes again. "Anyway, we're jumping the fence, sneaking along and climbing to the roof. See anywhere where we can climb from?" I added.

"Not exactly…" we scanned the estate trying to find a wall secure enough for us to use in order to climb.

"Hold on," Jacob whispered. He took out his phone, looked through some files and came up with something a few moments later. "Here," he showed it to me.

"You're kidding, right? How come I never saw this," my mouth hung open for practically a whole minute.

Jacob's expression was smug; and more than anything at that moment, I wanted to slap it off his face, "Because, you're not good enough to carry blueprints around."

"Shut up, I'm the best we've got," I retorted.

On Jacob's phone was a blueprint of the Cullen's estate. It was a very complicated 3-D blueprint, which seemed more sophisticated than the one the estate's architect would have drawn. Jacob rotated the blueprint's point of view to show the back of the estate. No safe place for us to use.

"Check the sides of the estate," I told him.

He rotated the blueprint again; swiping his finger lightly across his phone's screen, "there," we both stared.

On the right side of the estate, there weren't as many windows; just a few which we could use for leverage. It seemed like a good place, yet we had to make sure the rooms on that side of the building wouldn't be used at night.

"Which rooms are there?" Jacob questioned.

I smirked as he voiced my thoughts, "I don't know. But we should find out."

We walked around the forest in order to get a better view. In order to see over the annoyingly tall fence, we climbed a tree. It wasn't the best view ever, since the hedge and the fence were still in our way, but it was better than nothing.

"What time is it?" I asked Jacob.

"Six hundred and thirty hours."

I tried to hide my smile, but was unsuccessful. During missions we read the clock the way people would've done it on battlefields. Jacob was known to not follow that rule; nevertheless here he was, telling me that the hour was six hundred and thirty.

"Bella would be here at six hundred hour on Saturday; identical to thirty minutes ago." Jacob added.

"Good," I nodded, "doesn't seem like they use the right side of their estate at this time of the night."

"I think most of them would be on the left side, where the rooms are. Remember, they don't have that many people living with them; just Mr. and Mrs. Cullen along with their kids." Jacob whispered.

"I know, Jacob," I suddenly wondered how the two of us had gone so long without hurting one another.

"You could be nice about it," Jacob muttered. "Anyway," he added on a more cheerful note, "The boy—Emmett—would probably be in his room. Alice and Rosalie would be with Bella. If not, then Rosalie would be in her room as well. Carlisle and his wife will be together."

"In the family room, probably," I nodded in agreement. "That's good. Alright, I think we're good for the night."

"We should get back," Jacob agreed.

"Come on then," I stood up, and slowly began the walk back through the forest.

* * *

Author's Note: And that's that! Jacob is introduced, he's a Masen, and a cousin to Edward. The two boys are about to get into a huge mess that's going to involve Bella. I won't say much more, because that would only ruin the surprise.

You know what to do, it's right down there.


	6. Insensible

Author's Note: First of all, thanks to all of my reviewers and readers, you're all amazing!

This chapter explains Esme's (Edward's mom) death and the Masen-Cullen feud. Also, it shows what happens to Edward and Jacob when they spy on Bella, Alice, and Rosalie.

Hope you enjoy it!

* * *

Chapter 5

Insensible

_Edward _

_Masen Mansion, Outskirts of Forks, Washington, USA _

_Fall _

_The afternoon air was thick and full of precipitation. It had rained all day, and remains of the rainfall were falling off sewers and the sides of buildings. The smell of the alley where we walked seemed to spread. It was most definitely noticeable to anyone who lived in Seattle. The garbage left outside houses, for God knows how long, were slowly decomposing in their plastic bags. The rain, which turned the alley into a wet and humid place, did not seem to make the situation any better. In fact, it only seemed to add to the nastily chocking smell. If there was anything the rain had succeeded in doing, it was making anything wooden around the area stink. _

_As if the alley needed it, the stink was increased by the blood which had splashed on the walls, and stained the floors. _

_In the middle of the road lay a lady. She looked to be in her late twenties; not too young to have children, but definitely too young to die. _

_Beside her, we crouched, two boys, one with honey blond hair, and hazel eyes, the other with reddish bronze hair and bright green eyes. The blond boy was the older one of us, around six years old; while I was about four years of age. _

"_Whatever you do, Jasper; don't leave your brother. Stay with him, look after him." The woman whispered to the older boy._

_The boy nodded, choking back tears. "I promise I'll look after Edward."_

_Smiling, the woman looked at me and said, "I love you Edward. Stay safe." _

"_I love you too, mommy," I mumbled, my cheeks wet as the tears streamed down. _

_Opening one hand, she revealed a golden locket and handed it over to Jasper "Give this to your grandfather… Anthony. Tell him what happened to me; that you don't have anywhere else to go. He lives in Forks. That's a few hours out of here. Tell him _he_ did it."_

_Jasper nodded once to show his agreement, "Should we tell Dad?"_

"_No!" my mom seemed frightened at the thought, "Don't go back to your father. I know you miss him… but please… for me, don't go back to him."_

"_We won't." I promised._

"_Thank you, sweetie," she held my hand. "I love you both, remember that." _

"_We love you too," Jasper and I said at once. _

_Smiling, mom laid her head back, she took a few breaths. Holding her hand, I felt it turn cold and hard. I didn't know what it meant back then, but I do now. It meant that my mother had passed on. _

"_Come on, Edward, we should get going." Jasper said, leading me away from our mom's corps. _

"_We're just going to leave her there?" I demanded, angrily. _

"_We have to Edward! What are we supposed to do? She said we have to find our grandpa. We don't even know where he lives!" _

"_He lives in Forks." _

"_But where is Forks?" Jasper asked, "Do you know how to get to Forks? No, and neither do I. We still need to get there, though. We can't go to our dad. Mom said that. And we don't even know where he lives,anyway, so what is the point of going to him?_

"_We don't have much money either, just whatever there was at home. We were never very rich, you know. We need to find help, and we have to start looking now." _

"_Okay," Sneaking one last glance at my dead mother, I followed Jasper back home; and then, out into the unknown._

* * *

I woke up to find my cheeks and pillow both stained with tears.

The dream had felt so real, was so vivid, I could practically feel loosing my mother again. I had seen that dream many times, but never before, in many years, had it made me feel like this.

I sat up in bed, and surveyed my surroundings. It was still dark outside; no lights shone through the windows; none from the inside of the house. My room was drenched in black shadows which made me feel lonely and isolated.

Cautiously, I stood up, walked to the window, and throwing it open breathed in fresh autumn air. I had hoped to calm myself down; instead, all I had managed to do was make myself feel worse.

I was crying then; tears pouring out of my eyes and down my face. I cried over everything I had lost during my seventeen years of living. There was a lot to cry about, contrary to what most believed. It didn't matter what people thought, there were still a lot of things I cared about. It was just that I lost most of them.

If there was one thing I had constantly cried about, it was loosing my mother.

_Tell him _he _did it_, my mother's words echoed around my head, bringing a fresh wave of tears to my eyes.

I hadn't understood what that meant the day she told us. Later, I learned what my mother had implied by those words. Had I known what she meant by that line, I would've found him that day and ended this conflict before it started.

As it turned out, my _father _had planned my mother's 'assassination'. It was one of my dad's men who shot her. She knew for a while—a long while—that she would get killed, and that she was in a dangerous situation. She was advised to walk out on her husband so that she would stay safe. But she didn't, mom wasn't a quitter.

The whole conflict between the two families started about a century or so ago when a Cullen and a Masen had a row. They argued, fought and made enemies of one another over something that had become lost to us. They raised their children, who raised their children, who in turn raised _their_ children, to dislike one another. They never told the new generation why the two families hated one another; just that they did. The reason which started the fight is unknown to us, the new generation, but we still carry the hate in our blood, deep in our souls. We feel it with a burning passion, with every part of our existence.

The Cullen and Masen who started this were being childish. They failed to see the impact of their unsolved problems on the future generations and their descendants. But of course, since that day, the Masen and the Cullen families have been holding a grudge against one another; both unsure why, but neither willing to swallow their pride and apologize.

What was to be expected from two rich, criminal, self-loving, arrogant families? Other than make the problem worse—which mind you, we did. We've even come to think of this conflict as the Cullen-Masen war.

When my parents got married, as I have been told, people were hoping the two families would be able to put aside their differences and start anew. They hoped that Carlisle Cullen and Esme Masen would bring the two families together and end the feud which had been going on for decades.

But people were wrong.

Carlisle Cullen walked out on his wife, leaving her with two sons. Two years later, he got his personal assassin to kill her, by shooting her through the stomach and allowing her to bleed to death, slowly and painfully. Five years later, he found his assassin dead, in his hand a note with a short greeting.

Six years after the death of that assassin, Carlisle took his revenge for the murder of his best, most trusted worker. He killed the only person his youngest son had learned to love and trust.

Thirteen years since the death of Esme Masen-Cullen, Carlisle's youngest son was still hunting him down. Meanwhile Carlisle tried to wipe the kid's name off every human record that still existed.

That kid happened to be seventeen years old at the moment, and still trying to kill his dad. He had almost done it, and wasn't going to stop until he had his life mission completed.

That kid had bronze hair and green eyes. He made girls swoon when he looked at them, and was very much aware of it. He got asked out by a 40 year old lady when he was only 16. He had many enemies, but many more admirers. He didn't keep many friend; his only friends were his brother and cousins. He learned not to trust anyone, let alone his maternal family. That kid had grown to hate and mistrust the world.

That kid is me.

* * *

_Cullen Estate, Near Forks, Washington, USA _

"_ARE YOU KIDDING ME?_"

I practically jumped out of my skin, snapping out of my dazed state, and looking over at Jacob who also appeared very confused.

"What's going on?" I mouthed.

Jacob shrugged. He leaned over the side of the roof as if to get a better view of what was going on in the room below.

"He's not hot, or good-looking!" I recognized the voice as Isabella's.

"He _is _hot; everyone knows that. And come on; don't think I haven't noticed you drooling every time he walks into bio class." Alice's voice was also very recognizable.

"I do _not_ drool!" Isabella snapped.

"Who are you talking about anyway?" A third voice asked, and I took it to be Rosalie's.

Rosalie, who went to university in Seattle would come back home most weekends to spend some time with her family; today was a good example of that.

"C'mon Rose," Alice said, confirming my assumption. "You know who we're talking about. That Masen guy."

"You mean Jasper? I guess, yeah, alright. He's good looking in his own way." Rosalie replied.

Jacob sat back and wrinkled his face in disgust, "Ew. I didn't need to know that my cousin's adoptive sister thought he was hot."

"Neither did I," I told him, taking my turn to lean over to see what was happening. "Especially since she's _my _adoptive sisterand he's my_ brother_."

Inside the room, visible from the clear glass window, the girls were sitting. Isabella was sitting on the floor, one hand extended as Alice painted her nails. Alice was painting Isabella's nails a nasty bright pink colour, which I had to notice, looked gross on Isabella's hand.

Rosalie was on Alice's bed, a bowl of chips at her feet; from which she ate every once in a while.

"No, not him," Alice was trying to hide the blush which crept up to her face, colouring her cheeks a bright shade of red, "But yeah, he's cute too. I was referring to the other one."

"You mean Edward?" Rosalie asked, popping another chip into her mouth.

"Dude, she eats a lot. It's a wonder she doesn't weight two hundred pounds yet," Jacob, who had gone back to watching the girls, snorted beside me.

I bit my lower lip as hard as I could without drawing blood to stop myself from laughing out loud.

"Of course she means Edward! His brother goes to college in Seattle." Isabella answered Rosalie's question.

"University," Alice immediately corrected, and then quickly looked down as if to hide another blush.

I saw Isabella roll her eyes, "Who cares? The point is he doesn't go to _our_ school." She leaned back and with her free hand, she pulled the chips bowl toward her.

"I know that," Rosalie snapped back, "we go to the same university. But he rarely shows up to classes, though."

"Honestly, I didn't know there were universities in Seattle," Isabella laughed somewhat evilly.

"Shut up, Bella." Rosalie threw a pillow, but Isabella dodged it, grinning like a fool.

"Are my nails done?"

"Yes, just don't touch anything."

Bored, I leaned back and stretched out on the roof, staring up at the dark sky above. It was around eight o'clock at night, and we've already been here for two hours. So far, nothing out of the ordinary had been said or happened.

Nevertheless, I found sitting up here crazily entertaining. And in some sick, twisted way, being here was comforting. I didn't know why, maybe because I knew what Isabella was up to. I hadn't the faintest idea why I cared, but I did. I satisfied myself with saying that it was for my family's best interest; though I wasn't completely sure if it was true.

"Talk about a good leader," Jacob commented sarcastically on the fact that I was kicking back and relaxing.

"No one said I was leading." I replied with a fake yawn.

"I thought you were here to keep an eye on me."

"That is beyond the point," I smirked.

Jacob sat down beside me with a sigh, "am I the only one getting bored?"

"Nope," I shook my head, but didn't look at him.

From the corner of my eye, I saw him take out his phone, I turned so that I could see what he was doing, but when I figured he was playing Maze Runner, I looked away, uninterested.

We sat in silence for a while—how long, I wasn't sure. I could faintly hear the girls downstairs, fooling around and giggling. Talking about hot actors, and actresses they dislike. Judging if said actress was pretty or simply a slut; they called a few male actors and singers gross, and said that others were sexy and hot.

All in all, it was a very, very, very, girl-y get together; which left me bored out of my mind.

"What time is it?" I asked Jacob, after a long time had passed. Bellow, in the room, the girls had blasted Katy Perry's music and were fooling around.

"Nine hundred and fifty four," Jacob replied, rubbing his eyes. "When are they going to fall asleep? I'm tired, I want to go home."

"You're such a kid, Jacob."

"Hey, you always used to complain about late missions."

"The last time I complained about a mission was when I wasn't allowed to go on it." I retorted.

"Whatever," Jacob grumbled. "Keep in mind I'm only sixteen."

"In our world, Jacob, sixteen is very old," I reminded him.

"That only applies to you. Since you're wanted by every criminal—oh and did I fail to mention, half the State's police are still on your case," Jacob snapped.

"That's true, but you also failed to mention the police haven't the faintest idea who I am exactly. And every criminal who met me hasn't lived past it. Save those who are a part of my _blessed_ family." I used the word blessed sarcastically, of course.

"Maybe, but your dad met you, and he lived past it; no matter how much you hate that fact," Jacob pointed out.

I gritted my teeth, "He's going to die soon."

I should've slapped the smirk off his stupid tan face when he said, "maybe. But we all know you're going to die too. No one expects you to live past twenty, _Eddie_."

I whipped my gun out of its holder, "Not only are you forgetting that I'm armed. But you've also failed to remember that I am capable of ending your life at this moment."

The blood drained from Jacob's face, his smirk gone with it, "You wouldn't. Not with the Cullens down there."

"The Cullens would be glad another one of us died," I told him, "and hey—I can just say something went wrong…maybe you decided to lean over a little too much, and ended up getting killed by a Cullen who saw us. Anthony will believe me."

Anthony was our grandfather, who we called by his first name only when he wasn't around. None of us tattled on the other when we called him 'Anthony' because we all did. And, honestly, no one wanted to see Anthony get mad. He had a record for killing blindly when he was angry that even I couldn't beat—and that was saying something.

"You're Anthony's pet, so he's going to believe you," Jacob spat. "But what about Bella down there? Will _she_ testify for you?"

The kid had a point, but I wasn't about to admit it.

Nonetheless, I put my gun away and sat down, "You're on dangerous grounds," I warned Jacob as he relaxed. When he tensed again, I couldn't help but have a quick, mental celebration. "One wrong move and you're gone."

Another few minutes of silence passed, which was broken by Jacob clearing his throat, "So… um…"

I glared at him.

"Right," He said, his voice showing his fear. "Evil cousin," He muttered.

"I heard that," I said, grinning to myself when he jumped.

"Um… sorry?"

"Don't be," I turned to face him still grinning.

Since I was bored out of my mind, I figured I'd toy around with Jacob. Not to mention how in the midst of my boredom I happened to remember something my mother told me when I was younger. She had said she wished I could meet my cousins; that my cousin Jacob and I would be—and I quote—great friends.

Mom was evidently wrong; and if she was anyone other than my mom, I would have made sure she learned it the hard way.

"You're scary, you know? All relaxed one minute, angry and about to kill me the next; then before I can even thank God that I'm still alive, you're grinning and telling me its okay that I am calling you names."

"Thanks for the compliment," I settled for this being the best response.

"Huh?" He asked, stupidly.

"I don't view 'evil' and 'scary' as insults," I explained.

"Oh. I guess not. I mean, that's the kind of reputation you have," He stated.

"It's the kind of reputation I've _worked_ hard to develop," I avoided meeting Jacob's gaze.

"I guess that's true." Jacob shifted uncomfortably; "I keep forgetting…" he trailed.

"Forgetting what?"

"Everything you've been through."

The corner of my lips tugged upward, "don't mention it."

"There's a lot to you that I don't know." Jacob said, sounding like some sort of girl who was trying to confess her love.

"Don't turn all mushy on me." I frowned. "But yes, there's a lot to me that no one knows."

"Jasper's probably the only person who knows you, maybe Lauren too."

"No, they don't know me. The only person who really knew me died."

"_Her_?" Jacob looked over, as I turned away once more "is that why he killed her?"

I shrugged, "I killed his best assassin—the guy who killed my mom. So Carlisle decided to kill her instead. You know, I took away the one person he trusted. In turn, he killed the one girl I cared about."

"You should go kill Tanya. That would be comeback enough."

"No. Even killing him won't be enough. But I'm going to do it still." I clenched my fists.

"If he rots away in hell, do you think that would be enough?"

"God, I hope Carlisle doesn't end up in hell," I laughed.

"Why not?" Jacob asked, "You hate him, why don't you want him to burn for the rest of eternity?"

"Well, _I'm _going to end up in hell—and don't you interrupt me." I added, seeing him open his mouth to comment. He snapped it shut, and I went on. "Like I said, I'm bound for hell, anyway. So why would I want Carlisle to end up there as well? You know, if I have to put up with him in this world, then I rather he go to heaven and let me enjoy my torture. He doesn't need to add to it." I looked over at him; he had his mouth hanging open again. I smirked, "You can comment now."

He glared at me, "You really think you're going to go to hell?"

I scoffed, "Please, look at the number of people I killed. The number of lives I ruined; all those people I sold drugs to, and got them dependant. Count how many things I stole, how many girls I slept with—"

"Too many to count," Jacob shook his head.

"Exactly my point, don't you think all those things—mind you they're things that any person who strongly believes in religion knows they shouldn't do—would have already gotten me a one way ticket into hell?" I said.

Jacob was speechless, I knew. He shrugged his shoulders as if that was an answer enough. "I think that you end up wherever you think you'll end up."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if you believe you're a good person who's going to heaven, then you obviously are going to do good things, right? So you end up in heaven. If you think you're hell-bound, then you don't care anymore about what you do. You do things that are wrong. So, you got to hell when you die."

"And if you don't believe in either?"

"Damn… well, I don't know. I guess God decides where you go then."

"What if you don't believe in God?" I asked.

"If you believe in an after-life, then you believe in God." Jacob answered.

"I'm not saying I don't believe in God. Ironically, I do believe in Him; but you know. People like Lauren, who don't believe in Him, what then?"

"I'm getting a creepy feeling that's telling me you're actually interested." Jacob raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I am." I told him.

Sighing, Jacob admitted, "I don't know about people like Lauren. I think… I don't know. I personally believe in God, as it is. But hey—I didn't know you believed in the existence of something better than yourself."

I gave him an evil look, "Shut it Jacob, I'm not as self-obsessed as you."

"Oh yeah?" He challenged.

"Hell yeah! Who was it that was standing in front of the full-length mirror for a fucking half an hour? 'Oh do I look okay? Are my pants too tight? Are they too loose? Is my collar down? Is my shirt wrinkled?'" I imitated, mockingly.

Jacob slapped me on the shoulder, and surprisingly, I let it go, "Shut up. I'm not that gay."

"But you are gay."

"Please, I'm perfectly straight. You on the other hand…"

"Your turn to shut up," I warned.

Jacob grinned, "I'm seeing a new part of you. Are you sure you're not high?"

Rolling my eyes I told him, "I may deal drugs, but I don't take them."

"Ditto, but I thought maybe… _just maybe_, curiosity got the best of you for once and you tried something you shouldn't be trying; and so turned into a druggy."

"That sounds like something that's more likely to happen to you than me; idiot." I whacked him on the back on his head.

He flinched, rubbing the spot where I hit him, "I didn't know you could actually be…"

"Be?" I pondered. "Well, go on."

"Friendly and honest."

"Anyone can be friendly," I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, except that I thought you lost that ability."

It was then that I gave him a look that wasn't very friendly.

"Hey, since you're in a good mood; and we're close to becoming best buddies," I rolled my eyes at the best buddies part "mind if I call you Teddy-Bear?"

"Sure, go ahead." I said.

"Really?" He asked, all excited.

I hated to ruin his moment, but I guessed I owed him the truth; "Yeah, by all means; if you want me to chock you to death."

I almost grabbed him in a mock death grip; when the sound of screaming ripped through the air.

For a moment I though it was Jacob who screamed. But he was as surprised as I was. It took me a whole minute to realize that the scream belonged to a girl.

"Bella," Jacob gasped.

Forgetting the situation, I leaned a little too far over the edge of the roof top to look into the room. I was practically hanging upside down; anyone looking from the inside would be able to see me clearly.

I don't know what I expected to see happening inside, but it wasn't Isabella lying on the floor laughing, while Alice and Rosalie clutched their stomachs, trying to control their hysteria.

"Edward, get back up here, they'll see you!" Jacob tugged at my jacket.

Too late; in the next moment, Isabella had saw me and was screaming at the top of her lungs in terror. She ran to the back of the room, yelling and pointing at the window. Just like she did during the science lab.

I quickly straightened up.

"There! There! Someone was looking into your window! Oh my God! I swear. He's on the roof! Get help!" Isabella was screaming.

"Is it too late to change my mind about coming here?" Jacob asked.

"Too late for that," I replied.

"EMMET! DAD!" Alice's shout brought us back to our senses.

"Not too late to run for our lives, is it?" Jacob asked, hopeful.

"No."

"What now, captain?"

"What do you think? Run!" We climbed off the roof—not sure how we managed—obviously seen by the girls as someone shouted behind us, "THERE'S TWO OF THEM!"

Jacob and I sprinted towards the fence. Behind us, the backdoor flew open and Emmett—swearing like a fisherman—ran out, chasing us.

Jacob glanced back. "He's got a gun, he's got a gun." He said, panicked; forgetting he had a gun and a dozen knives on his person.

"Get to the wall, go!" I whirled, bringing my gun out and shooting into the darkness.

Emmet dodged, and swore some more. An echo of words which should not be written down followed as I ran to the wall.

"Jacob jump over, go!" I screamed at him.

Gladly, he wasn't the loyal-dog kind, who'd wait around and risk killing himself—and you—because he doesn't have it in him to leave his partner in danger.

I climbed the wall quickly, half slipping, and jumped over. I knew, before I hit the ground that I wasn't going to land properly. I landed painfully on my knees and almost fell over; putting my arms out in front of me, I broke the fall.

"Come on!" Jacob yelled, pulling me to my feet.

We sprinted through the dark forest, glancing behind us every few seconds to see if we were still being followed. Sometime later, Emmet stopped chasing us, probably knew we already got away.

Panting, I watched Jacob as he sank to the floor and rested his head against a tree. I walked over and sat next to him.

The forest was peaceful and quiet; the birds had escaped earlier while we were still running. The only audible sound was our breathing.

"That was close." It was the only thing I could come up with to break the silence.

"You think?"

I burst into laugher. It was either that, or literally killing myself for my stupid mistake.

"Talk about a sensible person to watch over me." Jacob snorted, clearly not relived by the fact that we got away.

For some reason or other, his sarcastic remark rubbed me the wrong way, and I found myself angered.

I realized my gun was still in my hand. I looked at Jacob, "You're right."

He gaped stupidly at me.

"And speaking of _in_sensibility," I pointed my gun.

"Don't." Jacob pleaded.

"Too bad, but you've spoken your last word already," I said.

Then I pulled the trigger.

The sound of the bullet seemed to echo through the night. Smirking, I stood up; and started making my way towards our car—wherever that was.

I glanced behind me, "Well, now that we established that…" I left the thought trailing.

I whirled around, walking away; and didn't wait to see what might have happened next.

* * *

Author's Note: So, what do yo think?


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